Please help - what's wrong with my purple tang?

[thechait]

I don't know what's wrong with my purple tang. If anyone knows a way to help, please.

 

[Cherokee_Dude]

What size tank is he in?
Are those white spots raised?
Is that exposed flesh behind the eye?
A little more info might help...

 

[JohnK]

The light/discolored flesh around the eye and going back a bit is HLLE (head and lateral line disease). A bit of a mystery on it's exact causes, but it's generally speculated that it's related to poor/limited diet. There has also been speculation that it could be related to stray electrical current in the water (fixed by adding a grounding probe). Poor water quality, and stress in general are also likely contributers.

It used to be very common in fish only tanks, but it's pretty rare to see in reef tanks. I believe that some people have seen it reversed when fish were moved to established reef tanks (think better water quality, and much more diverse natural foods).

The rest of the discoloration, the dark areas around the middle of the fish.. I have no idea.

As for the peppered look, that might be an advanced case of "ick". Do those little white spots seem to stay the same, or do they seem to drop off, then reappear? How does it's breathing/gilling look? (calm and normal, or rapid, or desperatly trying)

Have you had this fish for long? Can you tell us more about your set up? It's in pretty tough shape, but may be savable.